Inside Spain’s new South International Series Festival: “We felt there was room for a new project”

It is never easy launching a festival from scratch — and harder still at a time of financial stress in the TV and film industry and ongoing strikes by Hollywood actors and, until recently, writers. Yet a significant new event launches in Spain this month — South International Series Festival (October 6-12).

Based in the ancient port city of Cadiz, the festival aims to become one of the biggest series events for the audiovisual industry in southern Europe. The festival is hosting red-carpet premieres and talent appearances for scripted and non-scripted series as well as multiple industry events, including presentations of projects in development and special territory focuses.

According to South Series director Joan Alvarez, the festival aims to become a showcase for international series, providing a launchpad into Spanish-speaking markets such as Spain and Latin America. “South Series was born as a festival for the public, a festival of red carpets,” explains Alvarez. “People will meet their idols and the new arrivals of the season.”

At the same time, South Series is an “industrial forum”, he adds. “Professionals will come to a meeting place where they can make contacts, get to know local and foreign colleagues and learn the latest market and industry information.”

The UK will be this year’s guest country, with the aim of enabling co-productions and business between the Spanish and UK industries. South Series also has a special focus on the audiovisual industry in Africa and is hosting a delegation of producers and distributors from the continent.

The series industry is, of course, well served by established European events such as Series Mania, Canneseries and Monte-Carlo Tele­vision Festival, as well as markets like Mipcom and MIA. It is a point Alvarez acknowledges readily: “Yes, there are more series festivals and even more film festivals, and South Series was conceived to contribute to this circuit. We felt there was room for a new project.”

Alvarez sees South Series’ focus on the Spanish market as an important point of difference. Not only will the festival showcase series from territories whose content is not well known in Spain — such as Israel, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia — but it will also seek to become a place where international executives can seek co-production opportunities with Spanish producers. 

Spanish series will also have a major presence at the festival. Five of the 11 fiction series in competition are from Spain, which has enjoyed a boom in series production in recent years and increasing demand globally. There will also be a focus on Andalucia, the southern Spain region in which Cadiz is situated, which will showcase the area’s series, talent and audiovisual industry.

Alvarez acknowledges the festival is launching at a challenging time for the industry. Series commissioning has slowed after the production boom of 2022, and the actors strike — ongoing at time of writing — prevents US talent from participating in the launch of series (the WGA had ended its action just as Screen International went to press).

A former director general of the Spanish Film Academy, which organises the Goya Awards, Alvarez says the festival has had “some cancellations” due to both strikes. But he asserts the particular situation of the Spanish audiovisual market means the timing is perfect for a new festival in the country.

The popularity of Spanish-language series is certainly growing, with shows such as Money Heist (Casa De Papel) and Elite generating huge global audiences. Alvarez points out that seven of the top 20 non-English language titles watched by Netflix’s 280 million subscribers worldwide are Spanish-language series. “There are more and more productions and co-productions, but above all they are gaining an ever-expanding audience around the world.”

Enjoying a huge injection of government support, the Spanish audio­visual industry is also riding high and has become a significant source of films, partners, funding and locations for the international industry. Back in 2021, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez introduced a plan to invest $1.75bn (€1.6bn) to turbocharge the audiovisual sector between 2021 and 2025. The country has also attracted many shoots with a tax rebate of 30% on international film and TV productions.

Netflix, with its studio base just outside Madrid, has brought in a number of productions over the past few years. Most recently The Crown shot some of its sixth season in Catalonia and Mallorca, while Charlie Covell’s reimagined Greek mythology series Kaos filmed in Andalucia, Aragon and Madrid. Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series visited the Canary Islands, as did Netflix feature The Mother, starring Jennifer Lopez. Spanish director JA Bayona filmed Society Of The Snow in Granada’s Sierra Nevada mountains in 2022, while MGM/STX’s The Covenant from Guy Ritchie shot mostly in Zaragoza and Yash Raj Films’ Bollywood blockbuster Pathaan, directed by Siddharth Anand, filmed in Cadiz in 2022.

Heavyweight support

Looking to consolidate Spain’s place within the international series industry, South Series is organised by Seville-based marketing, communications and production company Womack. It is backed by the government of Andalucia through Spain’s Ministry of  Culture and Sport and has the support of Cadiz city council. Mediaset Espana has signed up as a media partner, while streamer Movistar Plus+, Canal Sur Radio and Television, and Unicaja Banking Foundation are also collaborating. Womack and the Andalucian government both thought Cadiz “would be the perfect venue for a festival that would look at the world of series from a different angle”, says Alvarez.

The festival director is joined by a team that includes deputy director Jaime Alonso de Linaje, who was co-ordinator of Valladolid’s Seminci for 13 years; head of programming Igor Ibeas, the former managing director of eOne Spain; and head of industry Carles Montiel, former head of feature films at The Mediapro Studio. The advisory board includes filmmaker Isabel Coixet and the head of the Spain and Andalucia film commission Carlos Rosado.

Alvarez says the festival is expecting “more than a thousand participants and a very generous response from the public. There will be an intense daily red carpet with many familiar faces.” He also believes the city of Cadiz will join the festival: “We believe South Series will have a fantastic atmosphere — the atmosphere of a great festival.”